I did read your bit about the veteran. I didn't actually know they got a speed boost or extra grenades at the time I wrote this, but honestly, I'd have to say my answer is still the same. He seems only marginally better than the tactical with a higher point cost which could better be used on a deadlier class. I've only played with the veteran a few times on the Marine team, but when I'm playing 'Nid and I see a veteran, I don't think danger or threat, I think biomass.

As for your bit about the deathspitter, Marines never take cover from it. Most of the time they strafe around in the open dodging your shots and returning fire with their superior firearms.

And I've been playing the 5.01 patch.

(I should point out that I wrote most of this out before finding this thread, so some of it may be similar to the OP, and it's even in the same basic format :o)

I just happened upon this mod the other day and decided to try it out. I must say I'm very impressed with it. The models and maps are a much higher quality than I had initially expected going in and the gameplay is fun and easy to get in to. Of course, the game is not without flaws, though I just know there's a diamond waiting to shine beneath it all, it just needs some polishing, and while I'm no mapper or coder, I figure I can help out with some feedback at least.

The first, most noticeable thing (and I know everyone already knows this) is that everyone always piles onto the Ultrasmurf team at the beginning of a game. That said, I actually don't have much of a problem with this, given that the teams generally balance out somewhat as the game progresses and I prefer 'Nids anyway. I also feel that I should add that the game is actually pretty balanced with an Ultrasmurf bias, given how quickly they die in CQC and their reliance on teamwork and numbers to take down the 'Nids before they can close to melee range (actually now that I think about it, it sounds more like I'm fighting Guardsmen than Spess Mehrens, but that's neither here nor there).

The second biggest problem before I get to the classes is that the objective of a match is not always very clear. There seem to be a lot of instances where nobody knows what each team is really supposed to be doing further than killing the other team and advancing. For example, in a recent game on ex_lycantium (hope I got that right) the 'Nids had pushed the Ultrasmurf team to their last point where we entered a standoff and the two teams were pretty much running at each other in the entrance to the large courtyard. Evidently, the 'Nids have to destroy the large ship looking thing in the silo at the far end of the courtyard, but nobody on our team knew that, and I'm pretty sure none of the Ultrasmurfs knew that either, considering they had zero guys guarding it (I feel I should also add that it's extremely easy for a single lictor to sneak in and wreck it while nobody's looking, assuming they know they're supposed to).

Anyway, onto the teams. Note that my experience is mostly based off of the game from the 'Nid perspective.

Tactical Marine:
The tactical is probably the most balanced class in my opinion. They're a good, well rounded class with decent fighting ability and equipment to handle most situations they come across. One of the best things about them is that you don't feel like you're getting screwed when you respawn as one, making it a good base class.

Veteran Marine:
Honestly, the veterans just seem like a waste of points to me. What I'm getting is that they're basically tacticals with somewhat better close range fighting ability, though they still pale in comparison to the specialist. Whenever I see a veteran, I treat it like I would any tactical, with the exception that most veterans run around with their close range weapons out, making them much easier to close with and kill. Personally, I'd give the veteran a small buff of some sort to distinguish them from the tacticals and the specialists.

Specialist Marine:
First of all, I'd like to state that beakies are the best and you guys are awesome for including them. Other than that, however, I don't really have much to say about them. They're certainly powerful and dangerous, but it's offset by their short range, so I wouldn't call them overpowered or anything.

Heavy Marine:
I'm going to come right out and say it: the heavy is very overpowered. Combine the range of a bolter, the damage output of a melta, and the fire rate of a squad of tacticals, and you have one hell of a recipe for 'Nid tears. The only effective way of killing heavies seems to be sneaking up behind them as a lictor, being that they're the slowest and so usually at the back of a moving squad. However, the fact that they can rack up huge amounts of kills means that even if you manage to kill one, he's coming right back. Now I personally don't think making them mount their guns before firing would change the problem at all, and it certainly wouldn't be accurate to the fluff, but something definitely needs to be done about these guys.

Warrior:
A very bad unit. Warriors are essentially lictors minus the stealth ability. The spitwads or paperclips or whatever it is that the warrior's gun shoots do laughable amounts of damage compared to the bolters that they're competing against. You could theoretically say that the rubberband gun is used to soften the target as you close with them, but the claws kill within a couple hits anyway, so all you really end up doing is drawing attention to yourself. The only thing the warrior seems to be very good at is using their minor speed advantage to rush opponents around corners. Personally, I'm against buffing the foam dart gun, as ranged combat sort of goes against the Tyranid style. Were it up to me, I'd take the pellet gun off entirely and capitalize on the fact that they're the fastest 'Nid unit with a charge or leap attack or something to that effect filling the secondary slot (though given the work that's already been done on the coding and the model, I'm sure that's out of the question at this point).

Lictor:
My personal favorite unit. Sneaking around the smurfs and eating the guys in back is the best thing ever. The only problem I have with the lictor is that it seems sort of easy for an attentive marine to spot one even if standing completely still, though making them harder to spot might make them overpowered. Also, any blood that appears on the lictor doesn't seem to go invisible with you, making you an easy target if you've been hit. One more thing that I'd like to add is that I think would be very cool if lictors could climb along walls (an idea I got while watching the Beta 5 video on moddb, as it appeared to be what the player at 1:25 was doing at first), however it probably wouldn't be the easiest thing to code in and might make them overpowered.

Carnifex:
Like a living, breathing land raider. The only two minor problems I have with this guy is that the odd field of view can be a little disorienting at times and the scream attack doesn't seem to do anything, though I've never been on the receiving end of a carnifex scream, so I can't say for sure. Given the scream attack's short range and the 'fexes ability to absorb damage like a wall, however, it seems more prudent to close the extra foot or so and use the ultra-raep claws instead.

Zoanthrope:
A decent support unit, but it seems a little underwhelming for the Tyranid team's most expensive unit. The excruciatingly slow speed combined with the fact that he needs to duck under most obstacles makes moving any more than a few feet a royal pain, the SOOPER SYKER MIND BLAST feels like it could use a longer range considering how slow and vulnerable he is, and his secondary ability is completely worthless given that he's supposed to be staying as far away from the enemy as possible and even if they do close with him, they all have guns and aren't going to be getting in close anyway.